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IN LIGHT of a recent incident in which a man based in the United States apparently got duped by a woman claiming to be from Cebu into giving her the equivalent of P100,000, the police is urging the public to be careful about starting romantic relationships online.
Supt. Ritchie Posadas, deputy chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7), said people who meet online should not immediately send each other money.
?They should know each other very well first,? Posadas said.
Allan Toor of Florida earlier wrote Philippine authorities reporting the actions of one ?Arkishra Toribio Manuel,? whom he described as a Filipina residing in the town of Consolacion. They met on a dating site.
In the process of getting to know each other, Toor sent the girl P100,000 for her to use to fly to Florida on the promise of starting a relationship with Toor.
However, she was not on any flight from the Philippines on the day she told Toor she would arrive.
Posadas said anyone courting someone online should not send money to the person they are courting. Instead, they should fly to the place of residence of that person and get to know them personally.
Posadas pointed out that Toor sent Manuel money for her to process her visa to the US even without being sure about Manuel?s identity.
Authorities pointed out that the photo and address supplied by Manuel appeared to be fictitious.
Posadas said it could not be denied that Manuel ? if that was truly her name ? had made money out of Toor over the Internet.
Toor reported the girl?s actions to Philippine authorities, concerned that she could be making money off other foreigners over the Internet.
